Entertainment

'Walking Dead' Game Season 2: A High-Stakes Drama You Control

The world of The Walking Dead is harsh and terrifying. It doesn't care who you are, and it doesn't hold back if you happen to be a terrified 11-year-old girl.

That's the hard reality portrayed in the first chapter of the second season of Telltale's The Walking Dead video game. "All That Remains" will be out on Steam, Xbox Live of Xbox 360, PlayStation Network for PS3 and iOS this week.

Telltale Games' The Walking Dead has a reputation as being a bone-chilling look of how we'll survive when the dead walk again. While Robert Kirkman's graphic novel and AMC's television adaptation pull no punches, there is something even more unsettling when the story depends on your decisions.

The first chapter —"All That Remains" — is difficult to review without spoiling the story, which is such a key element to Telltale's distinctive style of game. But I will avoid spoilers and talk in generalities, only to urge you to pick up this new chapter as soon as you can.

Clementine's World

Season two puts us in the shoes of young Clementine, the season one fan-favorite character who influenced much of the player's decisions.

Playing as Clementine leads to a new set of challenges. If you're used to playing as a powerful hero, you'll have to adjust your tactics, as playing a child in this game means you'll have to focus on human interactions. You'll have to rely on your wits and interact with people to help yourself along. That could mean playing guilefully — being manipulative — or just being brutally honest. Some of Clementine's biggest challenges come from other characters who don't sympathize with her age. They'd would rather see her dead.

Clementine has toughened up significantly thanks to surviving months and months in a zombie-infested world. I found my dialogue options for her were wildly varied, giving me a huge freedom on how to play Clementine. I could twist someone's arm with bits of overheard conversation if being a sweet little girl didn't work out. Telltale gives you plenty of room to play The Walking Dead like a deep role-playing experience.

Of course, this game isn't all talk. Clementine manages to get herself in some very harrowing situations in this nasty world. You'll have to be very quick reflexed to avoid harm, as every single bad situation comes out of nowhere. These gameplay moments aren't like quicktime events entirely, as they now rely on aiming your curser at enemies to launch a perfectly-timed attack, but there are still times you'll have to swipe or tap a button to execute an option.

While failing these events only sets you back a few seconds, there were definitely times I wished for tighter controls. Aiming a curser with an analog stick on a Xbox 360 controller didn't give as much precision as other action games, so I'd usually have to repeat a scenario at least once.

There was also one incident where you needed to control Clementine's very precise actions. Spoiling what it was would be a crime, but it was a scene that will haunt me for a while. Including it will certainly gross out players, while also making them feel very connected to our young protagonist.

All of these violent events added a huge amount of showmanship to the game. When going back and comparing this episode to earlier episodes in The Walking Dead's history, it's clear Telltale has steered this game away from the "adventure" genre — with puzzles and fetch quests — and more toward something entirely different. It's more like a high-stakes drama than ever before, and there was no moment that took me away from the fear of something — human or zombie — coming around a corner.

Telltale has stated this isn't a standalone season; you'll need to have completed season one (and possibly the "400 Days" downloadable content). Your save files and previous decisions will transfer to season two, provided you are playing on the same platform.

"All That Remains" will be out for PC and Mac via Steam and PlayStation 3 on Dec. 17, Xbox 360 via Xbox Live on Dec. 18, and Dec. 19 for iOS. The episode, the first of five, costs $4.99.

2. The zombie placed in Glenn's holding cell.

This zombie contributed to one of the most suspenseful scenes of season three. He also almost really screwed things up psychologically for fans watching.

Glenn went through enough torture to keep the rest of the group's location a secret from Merle. This walker was like a boss level, except your hands are bound to a chair, which also happens to be your only weapon.

3. The Governor's "former" daughter, Penny.

All kids fight with their parents -- but Penny played too many mind games with her father. The Governor is annoying and he's not even dead, so when we're defending him, you know it's bad.

Sure, Phillip was simply not ready to let his daughter go, but she wasn't helping either. Instead, she got all agro when he tried to brush her hair. Then she tried to rip his throat in the literal zombie way, not the choking-dad-with-teen-angst way.

4. The zombified version of Jenny Jones, who went all Donner Party on her son.

Mothers give their children tough love. Zombie mothers forget about the love part.

After falling to the walkers, Jenny Jones in zombie form attacked her son, Duane. Unable to bring himself to kill his own mother, Duane succumbs to the bite. If that wasn't gut-wrenching enough, Jenny left her husband Morgan mentally unstable after witnessing the entire thing and leaving him no choice but to kill her.

5. The zombie that used to be Milton.

This is actually a deleted scene, in case you are wondering how Milton actually takes a bite into one of the last Atlanta survivors. (You know, in case the flesh wounds of season three's finale haven't healed yet.)

Milton spent the entire episode preventing the inevitable for Andrea, and still managed to blow it. All in the name of Milton's selfish love for zombie science.

10. The zombie that went ham on Lori's corpse.

Lori knew a caesarean left her choosing either her life or the baby's. Regardless, this gluttonous zombie was totally "that guy."

You know, that guy that you didn't invite to the party, but he'll show up anyway, and eat all of the snacks and annoy all the attendees to the point of fleeing the host. In this case, Lori was kind of the party snack.

11. The zombie with no bathroom etiquette.

No one likes being interrupted in the bathroom, and no one likes when a character who breaks the tension and happens to have a really great relationship with her sister dies.

This zombie managed to strike out on all accounts, coming out of left field and taking a chunk of Amy's shoulder. Not to mention leaving her sister an emotional wreck for years and/or seasons to follow.

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